


In Memoriam

by WardenCommanderCousland



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Minor Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 16:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12062952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenCommanderCousland/pseuds/WardenCommanderCousland
Summary: The dedication of the Normandy SR-1 memorial on Alchera is attended by a select few. Takes place 5 years after ME3.





	In Memoriam

There was only a small crowd assembled amongst the wreckage. Not surprising, given the frozen surface of Alchera. The Kodiak had been packed, and the pilot chose to stay inside, watching from the climate controlled cabin. Besides, this wasn’t his moment.

A handful of small children were running through the legs of the adults – two human, an asari, a turian, and even one quarian, toddling uncertainly after the pack. A drell was keeping close watch, ready to snatch any that ventured too close to the rift. The asari child hugged his leg for a moment and took off again.

One of the humans pulled off and tugged her father’s hand. “Daddy, I’m cold.”

The turian made a show of picking her up. “I think you’re getting too big for this,” he said, settling the child on his hip. She tried to nestle her head against his chest, a habit she’d developed young, but the envirosuit’s helmet didn’t allow her to get comfortable.

A human held partially up by a mobility assistance mech tagged everyone’s comms and the adults turned to face him. “I think the Commander wants to get started before we lose daylight and it gets colder, if that’s even possible.”

The whole group began assembling a semi-circle around a statue erected in front of a M35 Mako. A pair of quarians, one carrying the previously unsteady toddler, stood alongside the turian. A small turian child came and stood between them.

“Of course she set the memorial in front of the Mako,” one of the quarians muttered. “The amount of times I nearly vomited in that thing.”

The turian chuckled, patting the quarian’s shoulder. The young turian looked up at him, face barely visible through the helmet lens, then back away from the crowd. The turian turned to follow his son’s gaze.

A human was standing alone, staring at the wrecked fuselage. Years of snow and ice covered most of the lettering, but you could still just make out _Normandy_. The turian turned his son’s head back towards the front of the crowd, where another human was now standing, ready to give a speech.

The Lieutenant Colonel kept his remarks brief and to the point. As the current Commanding Officer of the SSV Normandy, it was his responsibility to preside over the Alliance’s long-overdue dedication of the memorial to the SR-1. He followed the Alliance-prepared statement, interjecting a few memories of his own and taking a swipe at the previous Commander’s driving abilities, which earned an appreciative chuckle from most of the adults present.

The crowd lingered for a few minutes after the speech was complete, filing one by one back into the Kodiak. Finally, all that remained were the turian, his children, and the lone human, still staring at the wreckage.

The turian set his daughter back on the ground and guided them both into the shuttle.

“Want me to come back for you?” the pilot asked, staring out at the frozen landscape. The turian nodded. “I’ll give you a few minutes.” The Kodiak rose away.

Now alone, the human was standing in front of the memorial. Garrus gently set his hand on Shepard’s shoulder, trying not to startle her. “You okay?”

“Coming back here was harder than I thought it would be,” she said, her voice barely audible over the comm feedback.

“I think it’s hard for all of us,” Garrus said, wrapping his arm around Shepard. “All I could think about was watching you float away, hearing you suffocate over the comm.”

She turned to look at him, eyes wet. “You never told me that it was still on.”

“I don’t like thinking about my commanding officer getting spaced. I like thinking about it happening to my wife even less.”

Shepard shivered. The N7 armor kept out Alchera’s chill, but simply seeing all the ice and snow was enough to make her feel cold. She could hear the Kodiak’s engines coming to rest behind them. “We shouldn’t keep Cortez waiting.”

The ride back to the Normandy was silent, and Shepard maintained her vigil through as they removed their armor and entered the elevator. The shell of memories broke as they entered the mess-hall, and Shepard smiled as their son came running towards them, barreling into her legs. She winced a moment as the turian’s claws dug into the fabric of her undersuit – she’d have to remind him to file them again – but knelt to hug him.

Their daughter was dozing on a couch in the port observation lounge, covered partially by a blanket. She was curled up against the asari. Liara smiled, patting her own daughter’s head. “They fell asleep just after we boarded.”

“She always does,” Shepard said, running a finger through her daughter’s fire-engine red hair. “Every time we travel to Earth or Palaven, she’s out before we even leave the spaceport.”

“We are so very far out from anywhere they know,” Liara said quietly. “It’s probably better if they sleep the whole way.”

Shepard nodded and turned to Garrus. He was carrying their son now, and the small turian was beginning to doze as well. “I’m going to go see Joker.”

The CIC was quiet. Specialist Ramsey simply nodded as Shepard passed, not even looking up from the comm traffic she was monitoring.

“This feels familiar,” Shepard said as she entered the bridge. Joker was already navigating through the Omega cluster back towards the relay, and Kaidan was relaxing in the co-pilot seat. Joker’s mobility mech was powered down in the corner. It looked and sounded like EDI, but they would never be able to replace the real thing.

The cluster’s star systems zipped by. The years had changed them, but bringing the original Normandy team (minus Ashley, whose ghost still hovered on the edges of Shepard’s thoughts) back together for the memorial’s dedication just felt right. They’d all moved on with their lives – married or otherwise paired off, had children – or adopted them in Shepard and Garrus’s case – but they still had a reason to come together.

And they would continue together back to the Citadel, where the crew members who had joined on the SR-2 would be waiting for commemoration. It was five years to the day since their last gathering at Shepard and Garrus’s apartment, and the party was long overdue.

For now, Shepard was content to watch her pilot approach the mass relay, with the same bravado and skill she’d admired since the day she met him, and fling them across the galaxy in the ship that, no matter who was actually listed as the commanding officer, would always be hers.


End file.
